Chapter 77
Tico had been thrilled to see Stevie and had made a place for him to sit for the rest of soundchecks. Afterwards, he took Stevie in his lap and they played around some with the drums.
Finally, after almost half an hour, Tico asked, "Ready to go find your mom and pop?"
"NO!" stated the little boy vehemently. "I don't WANT to EVER see Richie again! And I DON'T want him marrying Mama either!"
That stunned Tico. "What brought this on?"
"He's the reason my mama and daddy can't be together and he's taking Mama away from me and he's making me go live with my daddy too!"
"Why do you think all of this?"
"Daddy said so."
"Stop right there. Kevin told you this?"
"Yes sir. Tuesday night, when he came to see me."
Tico shook his head. "Stevie, there's a lot about this situation that...."
"That I don't understand?"
"Yeah."
"Because I'm too young?"
"Well, yeah."
"Daddy told me all about it because he doesn't think I'm too young. He said that Mama tricked him into getting her pregnant...that she thought if she was having a baby, he'd leave Kris to be with her. He also said that Richie is bad news and is a drunk and he's going to fix it so that I live with him all the time and as long as Mama is with Richie, I can't see her unless she's alone and Daddy is with me."
Tico shook his head not believing how ugly this whole situation was getting for Jesse. He knew Kevin was desperate. "You haven't heard your mother's side of this story, Stevie."
"Will you tell me?"
"It's not my place, Stevie, and I expect that your mother had her reasons for not telling you."
"Please, Uncle 'T'," begged the little boy.
Tico gave a sigh and said, "Come on."
"Where?"
"I'll explain but not here. There are too many people around." Tico led the little boy backstage where they ran into Jesse and Richie standing with David and Dakota. Looking down at Stevie, he instructed, "Wait here with Dave and your uncle. Richie, I need you and Jesse for a minute."
The couple followed Tico into a lounge area that the guys used to get away from everyone.
"What's up, 'Tic'?" asked Richie with the door closed.
"We have a problem with Stevie. Jesse, did you know that Kevin was at your house Tuesday night?"
"No, I didn't," answered Jesse warily.
"Well, he was, and it seems Kevin has been trashing Richie and you." Tico went on to tell them what Stevie had told him.
"Oh just lovely," said Jesse sarcastically. "That explains why he didn't pay any attention to Richie when we went out to watch."
"Stevie wants to hear your side of it, Jesse, and he asked me to tell him but I told him it wasn't my place."
"Its okay, Tico. I don't mind if you talk to him."
Richie spoke up, "Jesse, I think maybe you had better tell him."
Jesse looked to Tico who said, "It's your call, sweetheart. I'll do whatever you want."
Richie had his hands on her shoulders and could feel the tension. He began to rub them. "Jess?"
Jesse was thinking it over and looked up at him over her shoulder. "Are you okay to talk to him with me?"
"Yeah."
"I'll go get him," offered Tico.
"Thanks." When Tico was gone, Richie took his glasses off and looked into her eyes. "You need to stay calm and not trash Kevin."
"How can you be so calm about this? He made you look like an ass and he's trying to take my son away from us."
"I promise, I am pissed at Kevin but we're not dealing with him right now. We have a little boy who is scared and confused and he needs us to be calm."
Tico returned with Stevie who turned into his leg as soon as he saw Richie hugging his mother.
"Come on, Stevie," coaxed Tico "Your mom is going to tell you her side."
"I don't WANT HIM in here!"
"RICHARD STEPHEN JAMES, you were NOT raised to be rude to ANYONE!"
Hearing the reprimand in his mother's voice, Stevie moved to the chair that was in a corner, as far away from Richie as possible. He kept his arms crossed and glared at his feet as he waited.
Tico put his hand on Jesse's arm and said softly, "We'll fix this, sweetheart."
"Thanks, Tico."
Richie put his hand on Jesse's lower back giving her a gentle push to go to Stevie. She looked up at him and felt stranger with the encouraging smile he gave her. She moved to her son and pulled the coffee table so that it was in front of him so she could sit looking at him. She put her hands on his knees as she said, "Tico said you're mad at Pop."
"He's NOT my 'Pop'!" said Stevie through gritted teeth.
"You're being mad at him doesn't change his feelings for you."
Tico spoke up, "Stevie, it's okay to be scared by all that is going on in your life right now but you have to realize just how lucky you are. You have your mom who is trying her best to give you everything you need and deserve; you have your father for the first time in your life; you have Richie who loves you just as much as he loves his own daughter; and you have a new family - Dakota and Frankie, Ava and Richie, Kevin and his wife and son, and all of us in the group."
"Stevie, Richie really does love you like you were his son and he wanted to adopt you," said Jesse.
"What does that mean?" asked the little boy softening some.
"It means he wanted to legally make you his son."
"I still want to adopt you," said Richie as he sat down beside Jesse. "Stevie, I would never dream of taking your mother away from you and if your mom and dad could be together, I would gladly step out of the picture if that's what your mother asked me to do."
"Why are you making me go live with Daddy?"
"It wasn't Richie's decision to make, Stevie. That was something your father and I chose."
"Why?"
"Well, there are a couple reasons. On my part, yes, I want to be with Richie while he's on tour. I don't like being away from you and would love to have you with us because I want you to see all the cool places but you need to be in school. You will be with us during the summer while the group is in London...AFTER you finish with school. The other reason I want you to live with your father is so you can get to know him. He's missed five years of your life."
"Why can't you take turns with him? I live with you one week and him the next week like my friends do at school."
"Because I don't like that. It's not a stable environment for you." Jesse tucked her head thinking about what Tico had told her Kevin had said. She took a deep breath and looked back up at her son. "Stevie, when I told you Kevin was your real father, I told you there were some things about the situation that I would tell you when you were older because I didn't think you would understand now. I still feel that way."
"But I'm a big boy now, Mama. You even said so yourself."
Jesse smiled, "You are growing up, but...."
"Jess, go ahead and tell him," encouraged Tico. "We'll help if you get stuck."
Richie put his hand on her knee and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You can do it, baby."
Jesse took Richie's hand in hers and laced her fingers with his. This was not a conversation she wanted to have with her five-year-old son but Kevin had forced her hand. "Stevie, when a man and woman create a baby, it's because they are supposedly in love each other and want to be together for a lifetime."
"Daddy said you were in love with him and wanted him to leave Kris."
"I thought I was in love with your father, yes, but he's the one who promised we'd be together and that he'd leave his wife. I never asked him to leave her. I would NEVER break up a marriage or a relationship. When I told your father that I was pregnant with you, I told him that I didn't want anything from him....that I would take care of you myself. He's the one who had his attorney draw up an agreement and had me sign it. I was not allowed to tell anyone about him being your father and I couldn't tell you until you were eighteen. He also made me agree to not use any part of his name but I had to list him on the birth certificate as your father. I also had to have a test done to make sure that you were really his son. For him, he agreed to support you. He sent me money to take care of you every month and he always sent extra for your birthday and for Christmas."
"Why didn't he want me with him?" asked Stevie, his lip beginning to tremble.
Jesse really didn't want to answer this because she was trying very hard not to cast a bad light on Kevin but it was difficult. "Kevin was married, Stevie...and he....made a mistake when he got me pregnant. See, he and Kristen had had a fight that night on the telephone, before the concert, and afterwards, he got really drunk. He took advantage of me being there and being a fan of his."
"Like Richie did with you?"
"No, NOT like Richie did. Kevin...." Jesse faltered. How did she explain this part to Stevie?
Richie spoke up to ask, "Stevie, do you know how babies are made?"
"You kiss someone you really like a lot. That's why I won't kiss any of the girls at school."
Tico and Richie both smiled at the innocence of Stevie's answer and Richie said, "Well, you do kiss them but that's not how you get a baby. To have a baby, a man and a woman have to have sex. When they are in love with each other, it's called making love. For your mother, she was making love with Kevin but for Kevin, he was just simply having sex with your mother. If you don't want to create a baby, you use protection and Kevin didn't do that. That's how you were created."
"So, why does he want me now if I was a mistake for him?"
"Your mom realized that you needed a father in your life after she heard what was happening at school. That's when I told her I wanted to adopt you...make you my son, legally. She'd named you after me so it would have looked like it was me ignoring you for the first few years of your life if the press had gotten hold of it. But for me to adopt you, Kevin had to say he didn't want to be your father any more. She went to him and gave him two choices, let me adopt you or start being a part of your life. He didn't like the idea of me being your father so he decided to be a part of your life."
"Stevie, Richie loves you very much and is NOT trying to take me away from you. He wants what's best for you. Do you understand now?"
"I think so. Are you and Pop going to have a baby?"
The couple looked at each other and Jesse said, "One day."
"Are you in love with him?"
"Yes, I am."
"Are you in love with Mama?"
"Very much so," smiled Richie. Looking at Stevie, he said, "I know things are pretty confusing for you right now but I promise, you are the most important person in your mom's life and I will never try to change that."
Jesse said, "Don't you think you should apologize to Richie?"
"I'm sorry, Pop. I don't mind sharing Mom with you because you make her happy," and he moved to hug Richie.
"Hey, Stevie, how would like to go get some ice cream?" asked Tico.
Letting go of Richie, Stevie looked at Jesse. "Can I, Mama?"
"It's 'may I' and yes, you may. Go on out and Tico will be there in a minute."
"Find Billy or Tony and tell them what we're doing," instructed Tico.
When Stevie was gone, Jesse broke down crying but it was Tico who moved to her and took her in his arms. Hugging her tight, he stroked her back and whispered reassurances while Richie looked on. He knew what a toll the whole situation had taken on Jesse and he knew this was exactly what she had been afraid of from the beginning.
"It's going to be okay, Jesse," reassured Tico. "We're all here for you."
"Thank you," she whispered pulling back and wiping her tears. "I swear, I'm going to KILL him!"
Wanting to make Jesse smile, Richie changed his voice, letting his thick Jersey accent come out, to say, "Sounds like you need to take out a contract on him. You are talkin' to Tico 'The Hitman' Torres."
"'ey...just say da word. I'll fit him for a pair of cement shoes and make him disappear in the Jersey riva'. "
"Ya'll are so bad," giggled Jesse as she hugged Tico again. Closing her eyes, she saw him, her father, a smile on his face, and he nodded his head in approval. Whispering, she said, "Thank you, Daddy."
Tico set her back and looked at her funny but didn't comment. Instead, he said, "Let me take the little outlaw to get some ice cream." He reached up to wipe a stray tear from her cheek. "Take care of her, Rich."
"Not a problem," answered Richie as he wrapped his arm around her again and she leaned against him.
Tico smiled and left the couple alone.
"Come over here to the couch, baby," he said as he moved to get comfortable. With her tucked against his body, her head on his shoulder and her hand on his stomach, he played with her hair. "Are you okay?"
"I will be as soon as I settle this with Kevin."
"Do me a favor?"
"You know I'll do anything you ask."
"Wait to talk to him. Calm down. Let either one of us be with you when you do talk to him."
"I had planned to." Jesse sighed and ran her hand over his chest. "Tico reminds me so much of my dad."
Richie heard the tone in her voice and remained quiet to let her continue.
"The way he teases me; the way he listens and the advice he offers; his tough exterior and soft heart - his whole personality." She hesitated before asking, "Do you ever see your dad?"
"I've had dreams about him, mostly about things we've done together in the past."
"Me too...until I met you. Now, sometimes, I can close my eyes and see him and he is always smiling...like he's trying to tell me he approves."
Running his fingers down her arm, he said, "He's looking out for you...your guardian angel!"
"He led me to you...and the guys...to make sure that I was safe. I miss him so much, Richie!"
"I know you do, baby....I know you do," he answered as he hugged her and kissed her forehead.
